Palo Alto police chief gives virtual ride-along

What does Palo Alto police Chief Dennis Burns encounter when he takes a rare patrol shift? Why, a couple of residents trying to transport a mattress by balancing it on the roof of their car.

That humorous run-in was among a list of events chronicled Friday night as Burns gave followers of the police department's Twitter handle @PaloAltoPolice a virtual, 12-hour ride-along.

Burns, by the way, followed the car to make sure it reached its final destination safe and sound.

Believed to be the first police chief in the U.S. to conduct such a ride-along, Burns hit the streets and social media in the hopes of using his star power to collect more followers, Lt. Zach Perron said by telephone, as he and the chief paused to get a cup of coffee at about 9 p.m.

Palo Alto police Chief Dennis Burns stops to check a car with a mattress on top of it during a virtual ride-along conducted via Twitter on Friday, Feb. 15, 2013. Photo courtesy of Zach Perron.
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Zach Perron
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The Palo Alto Police Department, like many law enforcement agencies across the country, is increasingly using outlets like Twitter to reach audiences that don't rely on traditional forms of media for important information.

"This is another format in which we can push out the same information and if people choose to follow us and get their information like that, then we have a broader reach and a broader audience," Perron said.

The police department has conducted other virtual ride-alongs and the fire department is scheduled to do one of its own on Tuesday.

Burns' shift started innocuously with a visit to a young girl's lemonade and cupcake stand. Following a flurry of media interviews, he helped out with a shoplifting arrest at Stanford Shopping Center, patrolled downtown parking garages on foot and even issued a written warning to a cyclist who ran a red light.

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Perron boasted that his boss isn't like most police chiefs.

"He's not someone who just sits behind a desk and administrates," Perron said. "He still has the ability to go out and be a street cop. That's what we wanted the public to see. Not every city has a police chief like that."